Nowhere in Portland proper on the east side is competition for what few decent homes are on the market fiercest then in N/NE Portland, and in particular Kenton, Overlook and Arbor Lodge and Concordia. Any decent home listed under $500k WILL get multiple offers. Going into the house hunting search, I warned my buyers Josie and Brandon of what to expect if they wanted to buy a house in those parts of town. First weekend we went out looking they found a house that was full of charm and had a great location. After seeing it, they went home, slept on it and decided to put in an offer. It was an a cute house but had an awkward layout, so they were only willing to offer so much. And unsurprisingly, they lost out on that house. And then a couple of weeks later another sweet vintage home in Concordia came on the market that checked most of the boxes. After we saw that one, they went home, slept on it and decided to put in an offer. And same story on this one- they were not willing to pay as high as it was going to go, so they lost out on that one.
We kept looking at houses and then a sweet vintage bungalow in the heart of Kenton came on the market. We went to check it out and the entire time we wandered around Josie kept repeating that this was their house, and they were willing to give it their all to get THIS house, and those other 2 houses were just practice houses. And because it was super cute, in great condition and in a stellar location- the ultimate trifecta- it received 7 offers. We put in an escalation clause and threw in some other carrots and thankfully the seller accepted Josie and Brandon’s offer! Transaction went smoothly and here they are- one month after having their offer accepted!
Way back in May- just barely into the pandemic, my buyer Elizabeth contacted me to see about working together. She picked me because my profile photo has me holding my Italian Greyhound pup, Pinto, because Elizabeth also has an Italian Greyhound mix pup named Whiskey. She gave me the basics of what she was looking for, but what was really important was to be in her own home by election day. Given it was only May, that seemed like an achievable goal.
Lisa and Matt and their 4 year old son had been renting an apartment in Irvington and were ready to branch out and buy their own home. Their needs were pretty simple- at least 2 bedrooms, cute/vintage, reasonable condition, a yard to play and garden in and relatively close to where they had been renting in inner North/Northeast. And a basement would be the cherry on the top. We looked at a few homes and even a condo that was a condo conversion from a 1960’s complex that was similar to what they had been renting. We found a great home that met all their needs within a few days. A house that had been sitting on the market with no action for nearly 3 weeks. We wrote up a great, full priced offer, and what do you know- someone else decided that day to put in an offer as well. The house seemed to have some condition issues and the other buyers offered a 2-week close, meaning it would be nearly impossible to negotiate repairs, let alone have any repairs done, prior to closing. So when Lisa and Matt’s offer was not accepted, there was a little heartbreak which was quickly dealt with via some condolence vermouth. But then, the very next day, a cuter-then-a-cupcake circa 1940 bungalow came on the market in Piedmont. We went to see it and I could tell my buyers were in love. Given it was cute, well priced, and in a fabulous location, it did receive multiple offers and Lisa and Matt were able to beat the other offers with a super clean offer and a small escalation clause. The inspection revealed a few issues including the need for a new roof, furnace and other old house stuff that was past it’s useful life. Thankfully the sellers were great and we were able to negotiate a fair credit amount and a small price reduction to account for the work needed. And then my favorite day in the whole transaction arrived- closing and key day!
The layout and flow throughout the home is absolutely ideal for a home of this size. Through the hall, you’ll find three bedrooms filled with natural light and ample closets. Also, a roomy bathroom with double sinks and stylish updates.
My buyers Shay and Mike contacted me in mid-April, about a month into quarantine, and a couple of weeks after my last pre-covid transaction had closed. They were living in a rental, had a 2 year old and were pregnant with their second child. Shay had just started a new job but due to Covid she had never even been into the office of her new company. They figured with the second kid on the way, now was as good a time as any to find a new home. They had just gotten pre-approved in mid-April one month into quarantine. We had no idea what the Portland market was going to do. Everything had come to a stand still in real estate and we as a collective body of real estate agents did not know how long the pause would last. Would it be for a couple of weeks? A couple of months? Forever?
Keys in hand, whoop whoop! Congratulations to David and Emily on the purchase of their first home together! This lovely couple chose a sweet SW Portland townhome with a DIY project or two in mind–perfect for the soon-to-be newlyweds. Congratulations, you two, and thank you for letting me be a part of this big step in your lives!
Josh and Evayn were referred to me by some great past clients of mine. We met for the first time via Zoom and we talked about the current state of the market and what to expect as a home buyer looking to purchase a home in close-in North or Northeast Portland. I explained how despite the pandemic, real estate was as busy as it’s ever been with nearly every good house getting multiple offers and almost always going over asking. Having caught them up to speed on the state of the market they were prepared for the worst, or at least prepared that it might take a while before they found the perfect house and had an offer accepted. We discussed what they were hoping to find, and they mentioned that they had seen a house listed in Overlook that seemed to check all their boxes. It had just gone pending so unfortunately that was off the table as an option. Or was it?
Kat was referred to me in mid-May by a former client of mine, about two months into the pandemic. Like a lot of first time home buyers, being home all the time with roommates while also running a business had lost a lot of appeal after two months into Covid. Kat is an artist and has developed a successful business selling dice for role playing games and was looking for a cozy vintage home that also had a large enough space to move her business operations into. She also wanted to live as close-in as possible. We looked at a few houses to give her a feel for what was on the market, and nothing was close to ringing her bell. And then like magic, the perfect little 1910 bungalow with a nice front porch and porch swing on the back porch popped up in Creston-Kenilworth. It is sweet as a bell in the sunshine with high ceilings, a true to period re-done kitchen and bathroom and vintage charm galore. And the basement set up is perfect for running her business out of with an outside entrance that will allow her sweet pooch to run in and out of all day long. Like a lot of houses listed these days, it was unfortunately listed under market. In this frenzied market, even buyers with great down payments, over asking offer amounts and fantastic terms are having to write offers on multiple homes before one sticks. I had prepped Kat for this, and so we wrote up a really strong offer and then just bit our nails while we waited for the seller to review the 7 offers they received. Thankfully they did select Kat’s offer. A home run on the first hit for Kat. The sellers had done all the hard stuff so the inspection went well and a month after her offer was accepted, I got to meet Kat at the house to hand over keys.
If you are curious about the market in these times, or are looking at buying or selling now or down the road, I am happy to chat over some socially distanced coffee or tea. Let’s connect!
Cindy and Oscar got in touch with me in what feels like a lifetime ago- mid January of 2020. They were eager to become homeowners, and after having gone through the process of trying to buy a home last year only to have it implode with a very low appraisal, they were ready for a fresh start. New agent (me), new lender (Umpqua) and a new year. They love mid-century homes and were looking for a home that wasn’t in perfect cosmetic condition. They love to garden and were looking forward to having a yard for their beloved pup Cookie. In late February we looked at a a 1960 tri-level in a picture perfect mid-century block in Mill Park. The home hit most of their marks- it was in good enough shape to move into, had hardwood floors, mid-century charm, and a beautiful yard. They also wanted a home that would work for multiple generations for parents to move into eventually and kids in the future, and with the tri-level layout, it had the perfect floor plan for being able to do so. It also needed a face-lift, something Oscar and Cindy actually wanted to do on a home. It had been on the market for almost 2 months, and while it was priced lower than what neighboring homes had recently sold for, it definitely needed some vision and felt overpriced considering how much work it needed. They decided to keep looking and found another great mid-century home in Milwaukie that they loved and decided to put an offer in on. That home had multiple offers and went for way over listing price, so they did not get that house. But all the while, the sweet tri-level in Mill Park kept calling to them. So a little over a week after they first saw it, we wrote up an offer for $25k under list price. The sellers countered back with $20k under list and my buyers accepted.
Congratulations to Bea and David on getting the keys to their new to the home in Pleasant Valley. From start to finish their transaction was 32 days, and during this time, the world turned upside down and our planet went to war. The seller was Opendoor, which if you are unfamiliar with is an Ibuyer company that buys homes for cash off market and undervalue, and then slaps some paint and caulk on the house and puts the house back on the market at market value. I was out of town for President’s Day weekend when Bea and David decided to check out a house in Pleasant Valley that piqued their interest. Since it was an Opendoor property, they were able to let themselves in without me and what they found was a home that had parquet wood floors throughout the entire house, a tri-level layout, and decks with views for days on all levels. They were in love, so we wrote up the offer while I was still out of town, and the next day Opendoor accepted their offer. The first time I saw the house was at their inspection, and our inspector warned us that all Opendoor does is slap some lipstick on problems, and she has seen a lot of sale fails because of the poor condition of homes and Opendoor not willing to negotiate credits or repairs. Thankfully the inspection went fairly well- still a lot of work will need to be done to fix some rotted siding, roof and gutter issues and a few plumbing repairs, but overall it was one of the better Opendoor homes our inspector had inspected. Getting Opendoor to offer any credits was like trying to pull teeth out of a live tiger, but I did manage to get them a couple thousand in credit, which was better than a poke in the eye. And then right after we finished that negotiation, poof- the whole world collapsed. Thankfully my buyers were far enough into the transaction that we had everything pretty much nailed down so they were able to sign their closing docs- though I was not allowed to join them. The sale closed, and rather then me meeting them to give them their keys my buyers were able to get the keys from the lockbox at the house themselves. This was the first transaction that I can remember where I didn’t get to hand over keys or go to the signing. And like everything else in this new world, it feels strange and sad. But my buyers are thrilled and really that’s all that matters. They can focus on moving from where they are sheltering in place at their rental, to quarantining themselves in their new home.
My first time buyer August is smart, diligent, stubborn, fun and funny. Basically, dream client. And, I promised them I’d go skydiving, since they took a leap of faith with me. More on that one later.
Molly and her son have been renting a below market rate home owned by a non-profit in NE Portland for years. With her rent about to rise, Molly made it her mission to buy a home to provide her and her son much needed stability. Through luck, timing and meeting the right qualifications, Molly qualified for a $90k down payment assistance loan through the Portland Housing Bureau. The loan is actually a silent second, which means there are no payments made on the loan, it accrues no interest and is forgivable after a certain number of years living in the home. Concurrently, Portland Housing Center’s LIFT program was unveiled and Molly was able to snatch up one of their $20k grants. With $110k in down payment assistance, Molly was able to buy a fabulously adorable new construction home on a quiet street in the heart of the Kenton neighborhood. The 2 bed 1.5 bath was built in what was an oversized yard of a house, and though only 800 sf, this home is a great example of how to use a small footprint to create a home that lives much larger than what you would expect with a home with less than 1/2 the square feet than your average new construction home. And with the smaller footprint, it kept the cost down and created an affordable option for home ownership in the thriving Kenton area. The transaction itself was smooth as butter with an awesome listing agent, Daniel Silvey with Knipe Realty, who also happened to own the home, a fabulous lender- Jennifer Leon at Umpqua, terrific escrow officer Mariah Yee with Ticor Title and lots of help and guidance of folks at both the Portland Housing Bureau and the Portland Housing Center.
Congratulations to Sarah, Scottie and Piggers! Thanks to impeccable timing they were able to get $35k in down payment grants through the LIFT program and University of Portland’s down payment program designed to help full time employees buy their first home near the UofP. Within a week of having the LIFT reservation in hand, we found a great rancher in University Park that checked all the boxes including what we thought would be a difficult to find huge detached garage for Scottie’s blossoming contractor business. This was the week before Christmas, and knowing that the LIFT funds expired in 2 months, and that most likely they were not going to see a house that checked this many boxes in their price range anytime soon, I suggested they offer just a few hairs over asking in hopes that the seller would accept their offer prior to the weekend, and it worked! Three days before Christmas they had their offer accepted, which was just 2 days before I left town on vacation for 2 weeks. Thanks to my excellent colleague Lisa Avena at Living Room who took great care of them and handled their home inspection, I was able to enjoy my vacation knowing Sarah and Scottie were being well taken care of. The inspection turned up a few unexpected surprises in the crawl space, but having a contractor buying a house always makes me feel better when a house is going to need some work. Even though the seller (who was also the listing agent) wasn’t happy, we were able to get him to agree to fix the big stuff. And then the appraiser called out some dry rot on the garage. Grrrr. By this time we were in mid-January and the market had clearly turned a sharp corner. In the 4 weeks from when their offer was accepted to the time the appraisal came back, the market shifted strongly into a sellers market with little inventory and a ton of buyers out shopping. The seller was very aware of this, and reminded me a couple of times that he had someone waiting in the wings who wanted the house badly enough because of it’s huge garage, that this supposed buyer would have taken the property as-is. So when I told him that the appraiser had called out that the garage needed to be repaired before the lender would loan on the property, he refused to the garage repaired. This would have been the end for most buyers, but Sarah and Scottie were not daunted. Scottie knew he could take care of the issue himself in less than a day’s work, so we got the seller’s permission for Scottie to fix the issue and Scottie got to work. Between the 35k in funds, finding the right property at the exact right time, and having the literal skills and ability to fix a problem, this family of three were able to close on the perfect house for them.
With some buyers the journey towards home ownership takes a few more twists and turns then planned. My buyer Sydney had a few bumps in the road along the way, but through luck and good timing, reaped the reward of the perfect house for her.
Through the kitchen, you’ll find yourself in a spacious den with a big window and bookshelves. 
I met Rachel and Rubin this past March. They had a matched savings account, an IDA (individual development account,) from Portland Housing Center and they were ready to buy a house. To say these two are delightful is an understatement- they are DELIGHTFUL and it’s people like these two that make my job so much fun. They are both from Portland and have lots of family in the area and knew they wanted to live near at least some of their family. They honed in on Milwaukie and SE Portland, and we set off looking at houses.
Back in mid-March my buyer Valerie called me in somewhat of a panic because the new construction condo she had been in contract to purchase was a steaming pile of mess and the lender eventually pulled the plug on getting a loan for it. Turned out that the condo she had been in contract to purchase for months was part of a brand new complex and only 1 other condo out of twenty had sold since they officially went on the market 5 months prior. When there are that few sales on a new condo project, most lenders are going to deny a loan because the risk to the buyer of the whole stack of cards falling down is pretty real. If the rest of the complex winds up turning into rental apartments because the developer could not sell them as condos, it then it makes the units purchased by unfortunate buyers almost impossible to sell down the line- and that’s not a risk worth taking.